


Aftermath

by derryderrydown



Category: DCU - Comicverse, Teen Titans
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-12-07
Updated: 2009-12-07
Packaged: 2017-10-04 05:51:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26742
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/derryderrydown/pseuds/derryderrydown





	Aftermath

Cissie leaned against the doorframe of their dorm room and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "What are you doing?" she asked.

Cassie didn't look up. "What does it look like?" Her voice was hoarse, rasping in her throat. "I'm packing."

Cissie stopped lounging and frowned. "Why? What's going on?"

"He's dead." Cassie finally looked up and Cissie saw her eyes, red and raw. "Conner's dead."

Cissie felt the ground drop away beneath her. "Kon? Superboy?" Cassie meant Green Arrow, she told herself. Kon couldn't be dead. He was _Kon_.

"Superboy killed him." Cassie angrily wiped away tears. "Superboy Prime or whatever. The one from another dimension. He was going to destroy the world - destroy the _universe_ \- and Conner stopped him and now he's dead."

"Kon." Cissie's eyes were burning but the tears wouldn't come. "Oh, Cassie." She stepped forward to rest her hand on Cassie's shoulder, tried to pull her into a hug, but Cassie swiped her hands away.

"I don't _want_ sympathy." Cassie zipped her bag up with a viciousness that nearly tore it. "I want a punching bag. So I figure I'll punch the bad guys." It was only a smile because Cissie didn't want to call it a snarl. "I can't get the bastard who killed Conner so I'll get every other _fucker_ on this planet who thinks they're above the law." Her voice was little more than a hiss when she added, "And I'll _kill_ them."

"Cassie, don't!"

Cassie swung her bag on to her shoulder. "Get out of my way."

"I've _been_ there. I _know_ what it's like to need revenge - and Kon stopped me and I _never_ thanked him enough for that!" She had to get through to her. "Don't do it, _please_."

"What _else_ am I going to do?" Cassie demanded. "Stay at school and ace my SATs and be a superhero in my spare time?"

"God knows, Cassie, bu-"

"God." Cassie bit her lip and looked away. "God knows." She flung her bag across the room. "I _am_ a god, Cissie! My father's fucking _Zeus_! So if god knows, I'll ask him! Hey, daddy, what should I do when the guy I _fucked_ last night is beaten to a pulp by a crazed lunatic version of _himself_ from another dimension?" She waited. "Well, daddy?"

"Cassie-"

"Gee, looks like god _doesn't_ know. So in that case, I'm sticking with my original plan."

"Please, Cassie."

Cassie didn't say anything and Cissie took it as encouragement.

"You were always the one who could see something outside heroing. Kon wanted to grow up to be Superman." And now Kon was never going to grow up and it was even worse than when Doc Money was killed. "Tim was always going to keep fighting until there was nothing to fight, and Bart-" Her grin was too twisted to feel anything like a smile. "Like he could _stop_ being himself. But you were different. You wanted college and archaeology and all the rest of it."

"That was _then_. Don't you get it, Cissie? Everything's _changed_." Cassie's legs seemed to give out and she dropped on to her bed. "It's not even just Conner. Being at school felt stupid enough when I was gods-gifted. Now..." She slowly shook her head. "My brother is Hercules. There's a damn _television_ show about my brother."

"Half-brother," Cissie said, knowing it was lame even before she opened her mouth.

"What's the point of pretending to be normal? Really?"

"You _are_ normal. Sure, you've got freaky abilities but you're still Cassandra Sandsmark." Cissie crouched by Cassie's feet and held her hands. "You're still a teenage girl and my best friend and - and - and the girl who completely sucks at calculus."

"If I was normal, my boyfriend wouldn't have died saving the universe." Cassie shook her hands free. "Look, Cissie, I appreciate you trying but there's no point. I _can't_ pretend to be normal."

"It's not a pretence," Cissie said softly.

"It _is_." Cassie sighed and swiped the tears away with the back of her hand. "I can _fly_ Cissie. And I'm strong and I've got a lasso from Ares and I'm _not_ normal, I'll never be normal and it's stupid to pretend. Look at Donna - she got married and had a kid and she even gave up her powers and that wasn't enough to make her normal."

"And you don't want to be normal," Cissie said.

Cassie took a deep breath. "No. I don't. Because if I was normal I wouldn't be able to get my revenge. And I need it."

Cissie sat back. "I can't stop you, can I?"

"No." Cassie suddenly _looked_ like Zeus' daughter and Cissie had to remind herself that this was her best friend.

"When you need me. I'll be here."

There was a long pause before Cassie reached down and grasped Cissie's hand. "Thank you."


End file.
